Page 3 of Poles Apart
Chapter One
Dom
Dom was unsure what made him think of Jacob today. It’d been years since he’d seen him, and, for the most part, he had good memories of the man. He chuckled at the thought. Man! That was a laugh. They’d been boys when they got together, barely eighteen.
He frowned as he remembered in vivid detail the last night they’d spent together, caught mid-orgasm. He’d been horrified. Jacob’s father had terrified him, but rather than stick around to see what would happen, he’d run. He shook his head at the thought as if it could remove the offending memory from his head.
He’d never seen or heard anything from Jacob again after that night. Jacob didn’t return to college, and after asking around, he’d learned that he’d moved away. No explanation, no reason. Just gone.
Dom had been heartbroken for months afterwards, moping around as if a part of him had been missing. He hadn’t realised how much Jacob had meant to him at the time, and while he wouldn’t admit to having loved him, it’d been a fucking close-run thing.
He smiled gently to himself as he drove, realising that he’d always have a soft spot for him, but if he ever saw him again? He’d kick him in the bollocks so hard, he wouldn’t walk straight for a week.
Tonight, though, he was on his way to see his friend, Seb, who he’d met about twelve months ago at a nightclub. After a night of heavy flirting with the sexy guy, he’d run from him and Dom had followed. Over many drinks, Seb had told him about his dead ex-partner, how he’d never got over him. Dom understood how he felt, having struggled to get over Jacob.
In the early hours, they’d stumbled to Seb’s place and slept the night away. Even though they were attracted to each other, they’d decided that a romantic relationship was not what either of them wanted, and from that moment on, they’d become good friends. Dom knew he could rely on Seb for anything.
Seb owned a dance studio, Nava Dance Studios in Chester with his roommate, Natalia, and they’d been chatting to Dom for a while now about joining the studio to teach. He’d left university with a degree in teaching, but in the end, had put all his energy into pole dancing.
He’d honed his craft, putting in hour upon hour of practice. He’d been covered in bruises, broken a few bones, lost count of the number of times he’d fallen butalwaysgot straight back up again. Nothing would stop him from achieving his dream.
It took a while for him to get noticed, and he’d continued to dance in gay bars to earn money to get by. He knew he would never earn a fortune this way, but it meant he could continue to danceandperform. He loved competing, though, and as more competitions for men had started taking place, he’d been there. Ready to compete. Ready to win.
Dom had made a good name for himself, had been recognised as the one to beat, but a call from home twelve months ago had put a stop to that. His brother, Jordan, was in hospital. An accident at work, they’d said. He’d returned to his hometown, leaving it all behind. Family was important, and Jordan needed him.
So, he’d made Chester his home again. He’d managed to get the occasional teaching gig, did some guest appearances in clubs and managed to survive on the money he’d been able to save from his pole dancing stints abroad.
The money had been good. He’d won both international and national competitions, bringing in prize money. Club owners loved to pay for a champion to dance at their clubs in Ibiza, Ayia Napa and Las Vegas.
But his brother meant everything to him, and taking care of him was more important than gigging around the world. He was almost twenty-seven now, and although he loved pole dancing, the travelling, the bitching, all that went with it had left him a little jaded. So, when he returned, he’d moved into his brother’s place and had stayed there ever since, ensuring his every need was met.
As he arrived at Seb’s apartment, the pizza guy was leaving.Timed it just right,he thought as he got out of the car. He knocked on the door and was met by his two favourite boys, Seb and his Rottweiler, Rocco.
Sometimes he wished theyhaddecided to be more than friends. He missed not having someone in his life, but it had been his choice to stay away from relationships since his return. Lately, though, he’d imagined finding that special someone and settling down, but he knew Seb would never be that guy for him. Once again, he thought of Jacob.
This had been happening more frequently. Though their ‘relationship’ had been brief and casual, he wished...What the fuck did it matter what he wished? It was done, and he’d likely never see him again.
He sauntered into the lounge with a confidence he didn’t quite feel and sat on the sofa, giving Rocco lots of scratches and Seb a quick kiss on the cheek.
“Hi, babe. How are you doing?” He really was feeling miserable after his reminiscing and realising how utterly alone he was at the moment.
“I’m good,” Seb said, “but let’s eat. I’m starving; don’t want this to get cold. I got your favourite and the wine’s chilled. Are you staying over or going home later?”
“I’ll stay over if Natalia is with Louis. I’ll text Jordan in a while. Let him know.” Maybe a night with his friend would help.
They tucked into the pizza, the wine going down far too easily, but when Seb turned to him, a serious expression on his face, he knew he’d made the right choice to stay.
“I have something to tell you, but you won’t be happy about it.” Seb knocked back the rest of the wine, his jaw clenched. What the hell had got him this anxious?
“I have a stalker.” Dom was gobsmacked and had no idea what to say, so he waited for Seb to continue. “They’ve been leaving notes on my car, photographs posted through the door here, and then there's been some vandalism to my car.”
“Why the fuck didn’t you tell me this before? Jesus Christ, Seb.” He ran his hand through his hair, tugging on the ends.
“I don’t know. I suppose I didn’t want to bother you. Natalia doesn’t know all of it, but she does know about the photographs. We changed the locks and the alarm system as a precaution.” Seb tried to explain it to him, but he was fucking furious—with Seb and this stalker.
He leaned forward, his head in his hands. This was surreal. Why hadn’t Seb mentioned this before? He was his best friend, for fuck’s sake. He tried to take a few calming breaths, finally getting his temper under control.
He leaned back against the sofa. “What about your car? Can they fix it? I can drop you at the garage when it’s ready.” He stroked Seb’s hair. It was clear this was bothering Seb more than he was letting on, but the effect was soothing for them both.
